SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson’s Reaction to Governor Cuomo’s 2020 State of the State Address
January 8, 2020
“On behalf of The State University of New York, I am proud to offer my strong support to Governor Cuomo. The Governor knows, as we do, the changing landscape on the horizon, one in which brings forth the promise of economic growth for states like New York that continue to invest in our people, our infrastructure, and in protecting our environment.
“At the same time, he has clearly developed a strategy to mitigate the challenges ahead. Consider the escalation of climate change, and our need to rapidly adjust where we get our energy and how much we use. We are excited that the Governor has charged our Nobel prize laureate Binghamton University Distinguished Professor M. Stanley Whittingham to lead the panel to create a road map toward electric vehicles. SUNY is also well positioned to meet the Governor’s ambitious energy goals and to provide ongoing research and training to meet the needs of the clean energy industry.
“We are extremely excited about the Governor’s proposals to expand the first in the nation Excelsior Scholarship program, boost workforce development training across our state, and make a further financial commitment to higher education opportunity programs. College is indeed essential, and more New Yorkers will have access through this even stronger support.
“At SUNY, we are proud to serve the Governor and New York State, and we look forward to the work that lies ahead.”
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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Holly Liapis
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